The Tough One
by Insert a Catchy Penname Here
Summary: Nikki is supposed to be the tough one. So why do her tears fall so heavy?
1. Dream

The Tough One 1

Author Note: I KNOW, this is going to be super short chapter! BUT it's late and I am tired, so…yeah. The other chapters will be longer, but this is going to serve more as a intro!

_Tears soaked up the young girl's face. She stared up at the Nilock above her, the tears streaming down with the pounding rain. _

"_How could you do this to me?" she wailed, "this is cruel!" _

"_It's what I do," Master Xandred laughed cruelly, "and you should not have tried to meddle in my affairs!" _

"_But…I'll never fit in," she sniffed, "they'll kill me." _

"_Who's says that would be a terrible loss?" the boss cackled, vanishing in a crack of painful lightening. _

_The young child stared at herself in a puddle. Her hair was so black, and her eyes were chocolate. She was a pretty spitting image of a seven year old little girl child. But this wasn't wo she was. Her elvish ears were gone, her eyes were smaller, her skin wasn't pale and she couldn't weld… _

_No. She could still control darkness. _

_This was cruel. She couldn't believe he had done this to her. This was a cruel fate. She let the Sanzu River fill a foot with her tears. _

Nikki's eyes flew open. The dream wasn't a dream. It was reflect to her past. The teen looked at her friends, who were asleep beside her in their beds. She sighed shaily and traced the mark on her skin that was colder than the rest, hidden on her stomach. The mark the symboled what she was.

Starr thought of herself as a monster and Twilight thought of herself a curse. Well, Nikki was both.

The tough girl let the tears flow again.


	2. Terrible secret

The Tough One 2

When the sun was in the sky, the Dark Rangers were already training with the Samurai. Nikki was tired from crying all night, so Kevin kept bringing her down with little trouble.

"Are you okay?" usaully she was more of a challenge.

"Yeah," she lied in a yawn.

"Somebodies tired," Jayden noticed and took the change to tease her.

"Blah," she whined, storming off.

Twilight exchanged a Look with Starr before going after her friend. The Dark Purple Dark Ranger was on a meeting room chair, face buried in her hands.

"Nikki?" the youngest Dark Ranger sat beside the one whom she looked up to, "Nikki, what's wrong?"

Sniffing, the tough girl sighed, "I can't tell you."

"You can tell me anything," she promised, looking at her buddy with wide childlike eyes.

Sighing sadly and shakily, the girl shook her head and dashed off. Twilight felt so sorry. Whatever it was, it must have been bad. The two told each other everything because they had a special bond. So if she wouldn't talk for her, then it was pretty terrible. And she was determined to figure it out so she could comfort her biffle.

As Twilight tried to figure it out, Nikki was weeping in the forest. This week was almost the worst week out of the year. She was always depressed, and this year, she was weepy. It had been nine years. Nine torturous years since they horrible day. Even now she couldn't believe he'd done that to her.

"Nikki?" a familiar voice spoke, making the girl jump. Jayden Shiba was standing there, looking somewhat surprised.

She sighed and bowed her head in shame. She was supposed to the tough one. Her tears, though, flowed heavy. He looked sympathetic as he sat beside her, laying a hand on her back.

"It's fine to cry," he promised as she tried to stop her weeping, "I cry, too."

She knew he did. She was probably the only one who knew besides Emily. He was a good swordsman, so she came to him a lot. They were really close as well.

"I know," she sniffed, cleaning her face with her shirt edge, "but you guys will never understand how horrible it is to be me."

"I get that your insecure," he told her gently.

_But it's not just that, _she thought. The urge to tell someone was about to drive her bananas. But who? She finally decided and took out her samuraizer.

"Twilight," she spoke, "come to the forest. I have something important to tell you."

Author Note: Oh...suspense, much?


	3. What's wrong?

The Tough One 3

"What's wrong?" Twilight was soon out of the shadows in front of her friends, "Nikki?"

The tough girl looked up at her friends. Jayden noted how she looked so much like Twilight when she was scared, and he squeezed her hand.

"You don't have to tell us," he promised.

"But I do," she sniffed, "I..." Suddenly, the memory washed over her. She found the words to say as she relived all her past.

_"This," Master Xandred looked with distaste at the child, "this is what she gives me? It is tiny, weak, spineless! For all I know she could appriecate mortals! RAH!" He kicked his poke angerily. _

_"Oh-ah-oo," Octaroo trembled, "I'm sure she'll do. She's just a newborn, after all." _

_"She better be," he snarled with distaste, "she married me out of force, and the heartbreak made her purge a child. But Dayu better have gotten me something good." _

_"Oh, I'm sure she did," the tentacaled monster looked in a gap, "she made her sister pretty strong." _

_"My daughter is Nilock," he looked over his child, "she will destroy her sister. This is perfect! Her tears will flood the river as it is!" He cacked smugly. _

_"Let's not rush things, boss," the crewman warned, "you're cruelity is relentless." _

_"I know," the boss picked up the female by the ankle and flicked her tender head. The baby let out a sob before backflipping, kicking him in his manhood. _

_"Alpha and Omega!" he cursed before admiring her, "maybe you shall be worthy. You're name shall be Nikkiel." _

_She dropped to the ground and nodded. Her body was just like Dayu's, only it was black like Master Xandred. Her eyes were like his, and she stuck out her tongue through blood red lips. _

_A shadowy darkness force grabbed Octaroo and slammed him down. The father and daughter shared matching laughs. _

_"Oh ah oo," he moaned, "this is a big to do." _

The past blurred until it showed when she was five.

_"No!" Nikki snapped to her father. _

_"Nikkiel Anne Xandred, don't you talk to your father that way!" he snapped, shoving her against the wall. She pulled free and stuck out her tongue. _

_"I don't want to torture more mortals!" she whinied, "I want a brother!" _

_"A deal, then?" a evil light flickering in his eyes. _

_"No way," she denied quick, "you and your deals are tricks." _

_"You know me well," he grabbed her shoulder, "but you will obey me or else." _

_"I'm terrified," she said sarcasticly, "give me a brother and maybe a will." _

_His eyes sparked, but he turned to the shadows. Growling, he welded them into a tall Nilock. It was the Nilock who cursed Twilight. _(See **Nothing but a Curse.) **

_"Brother," she smiled, satsified, "let's go torture the mortals." _

_ The two passed through a GAP, both laughing evilly. _

_"She is so much like me," the boss chuckled, "my son best torture them as good." _

"He did, already," Twilight grumbled as Nikki went on.

_She was seven year old and watching her father in action. He was killing mortals when, all of a sudden, he turned on the Rangers. She snickered evilly before gasping. Starr, (Well, she didn't know that. But you know,) was whimpering and sobbing. Nikki grinned and pinned down the terrified girl. _

_"Cry," she purred, "harder, it's music!" _

_"Please," the girl pleaded, "don't let the Rangers die. Red Ranger took care of me for a little while." _

_She wept and wailed, "Some one hear my call!" _

_Nikki's icy heart panged. She faced the dying Red Ranger. _

_"The damage has been done," she spoke, "but I can do this." She sent a ray of power to the Ranger, and Master X was sealed away. _

_"Thank you," Starr sniffed, pulling away, "now what?" _

_"You sleep," the girl replied, grabbing the girl and putting her into a sudden comma. _

The Dark Ranger then described the past of when Master X de-Nilocked her. The two held their hearts and held the weeping girl.

"I hid," she explained, "and then Starr woke up with Master Xandred. She had grown to be our age, and I didn't age myself. So...yeah."

"Oh my gosh," Twilight grabbed her friend, "I understand now! I do!"

The tough one broke down in sobs again. But this time it was from relieve.


	4. Abide

The Tough One 4

Twilight had cleaned up Nikki's face well. When the three returned back to the Shiba House, nobody could tell she'd ever cried. But the tough one was still embarrassed to have broken down like that over something that happened so many years ago. She kept her head down, trudging about and feeling horrible. Mentor even made her go to the recovery room after she almost threw up when they were training.

"Are you feeling okay?" he'd asked.

"Yes," she whimpered, feeling fever heat up her paler cheeks.

He didn't believe that for a second. So, to assist her, he gave her some medicine to make her drowsy and fever-reducer. She squirmed when he tried to give her the fever-reducer, which tasted like cough syrup. (Bleck!) So, to get her to take it, he called in Jayden and had him hold her hands behind her back and hold her mouth open with his other hand. When Ji had left, the Red Ranger laid down his friend and cupped his hands under her chin.

"You're burning up," he furrowed his eyebrows, "I know it's embarrassing for you to be weak anytime. But we all have our moments. It's those moments that make us stronger."

She sighed shakily, closing her eyes and let a lone tear roll. He opened up his arms, and she accepted the invitation to go to him. She buried her scarlet face in his shirt, wrapping her arms around his neck as he rested his chin on her hair that went down her back. She trembled miserably in his arms, trying her hardest not to break down again.

"I promise you it's perfectly alright to cry," he whispered softly.

"I know," she let her tearflow go, "I know.."

He didn't care that she was once a Nilock. She was a human either way, and he wanted her to be happy. She needed comfort and a heart that understood, and even though he wasn't very touchy-feely, he knew what it was like to feel exposed when you're always tough. She clung to his body tightly, shaking violently and sniffing into his shirt.

"It's alright, Nikki," he murmured softly, holding her tighter the harder she shook, "just let it on out. Just let it out."

She finally stopped trembling and looked up at him. She curled up on his chest and blinked with widened eyes.

"You know, nobody has ever comforted me like you have," she whispered.

"Well, I understand," he smoothed down her hair and pressed his forehead on hers, "don't worry. If you ever need any help with those crazy emotions..just call up ole Jay Jay."

"You're the first on the list," she smiled warmly at him, which she hadn't done in so long.

He combed out her hair with his fingers and smoothed her clothes. The drowsy medicine was kicking in hard now, and she curled up against him, leaning heavily. He allowed it, laying down and smiling at her. She was so innocent after what happened and lacked confidence. And he was willing to abide with her and help her learn how to live like a human and be comfortable in her new skin.

Emily clenched her fists in the doorway and glared, feeling jealously wave over her with full force.

Author Note: Dun dun dun! See the last installment of this saga, coming soon to an internet near you!


End file.
